Gemil, A.E.; (2005) The sequential development and the consequent urban patterns of Bucharest. Masters thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The main thrust of this thesis is to investigate the intrinsic morphological and topological properties of an urban layout. The study will be focusing on Bucharest, a city built of distinct historic phases and fragments which is facing the need to adapt to new European standards at the same time defining its identity. Syntactic analysis of a spatial configurational model together with classical comparative methods will be used for a fundamental understanding of the urban system. A two phased analysis will be developed. Revising previous hypothesis, the emergence of the city will be discussed illustrating consistent differences between particular stages of its evolution. The argument will be based on previous studies of configurational differences and similarities between cities, done by Hillier (2001), Karimi (1998) and others under the Space Syntax framework; and on morphological urban analysis of Jacobs (1993) and Panerai et al. (2004). Certain transformation in the city structure that occurred under the socialist regime will be proven to have significant effects on the whole configuration of the system. Considering the representative and functional role of the city centre, a second aim will be to produce an evaluative analysis of the major intervention on the city centre that was implemented in the 1980's as a reflection of the political regime, compared to the contrasting configuration of the old centre. The paper will refer to conjectures relating the socio-economic drive and the different modes of employment of space trying to grasp the logic and reasoning behind the distinct spatial systems and how they function together. As a conclusion the paper aims to illustrate once again the functional implications of spatial modelling decisions and objectively question the future development potential of the current configuration on the background of the present concern for the regeneration of the city.

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